Imbalance
by Yureii
Summary: Mulder and Scully go to investigate in a school where there have been paranormal occurences in class. They have no connections or reason- except for a girl who seems to be within the centre of it all. Chapter Five is up... please review
1. Prologue: Paper

**Imbalance**

Introduction:

The girl with the dark eyes walks gracefully down the street, it seems. But she steps carefully, as if the ground will crumble under her feet if she is not careful. Everything about her seems simple and so very average in every way. Her dress, dark purple with pretty but average black flowers on it, drops just past her knees and her sways back and forth with each step. The bag that is over her shoulder drops to her knees as well, and bumps against them with each step. It seems heavy. Her eyes stay to the ground, watching the rocks, and knowing all too well where she is going. Her long dark hair, a sign that she is insecure her friend says, covers her pale face. Certainly not a flawless face, she knows all too well.

She stops at the bus stop. She waits. The cold can be felt all over her in the early morning. The sun has barely risen. The street lamps are still on. The few other people at the bus stop don't even look her way, but she doesn't care much. One guy smokes, one girl pulls her jacket closer. The bus pulls up.

Sighing, she steps up onto the bus when the doors opens and tries to get up the stairs without falling on her face. But the initial moment where one might think she is a graceful girl is gone. She is really a complete klutz. Staggering up the stairs, she takes the seat up front where she sits every single day. The bus is loud, and she cringes, her ears hurting from all the noise. Ringing in her ears begins. She squeezes her eyes shut and wished it would stop, but it doesn't. The bus keeps going, leaving her to deal with the ringing in her ears.

The ringing returns during her first class, as the stress builds up. She didn't finish her homework.

"Where is it?"The teacher asks. She shakes her head.

"Don't have it."

"Why?"

"No excuse, ma'am."

The teacher just nods, looks down upon her with her evil stare and moves on to the next student, who insists that his sister stole it. Of course the teacher doesn't buy that story. The girl clamps her hands together, knowing that her mark is getting worse and worse each day. That night would be horrible if her parents got another phone call.

Suddenly, papers start to fly around the room, and then chalk joins in, flying at people and hit them in the face, leaving chalk dust everywhere. She just sits and stares, unsure of what to do. The teacher screams, more at a loss than any of her students. People come running, she can hear it. The teacher runs to the phone, as if someone will be able to help. The students run from the class, but the girl in the purple dress just sits there, staring, her hands clamped together still as the papers fly around the room. The teacher seems dismayed; the homework she was collecting is everywhere, along with everything else.

Someone comes to the girl. It's one of her friends.

"Are you okay?"

The papers drop to the floor, and she just nods.


	2. Chapter One: Paranormal Student

Chapter One:

Dana Scully steps into the X-files office early that morning, finding Mulder already there, as expected. He is on the phone, seemingly very interested in what he is hearing about. Scully stops and waits for him to get off the phone, knowing that she'll probably be turning around soon anyway.

"Really? And how long have these been happening?"

_I wonder what's going on now... _she thinks half wonderingly, half bitterly and completely sceptically.

"Oh, really? Okay, we'll be around soon. Thank you for your call."

He hangs up and looks up at Scully, giving her a smile. It is the smile that says he has an X-file and somewhere for them to go. Scully wonders what alien case he has today.

"So- what is it, Mulder? "

"A school downtown has been having some difficulties recently."

She looks sat him with that sceptical expression on her face that Mulder knows too well. "What kind of difficulties, Mulder? Is there a paranormal student at this school?"

She sits down in a chair and puts down her briefcase. Mulder watches the light glint off her red hair and smiles bigger at her. "That's what they want to find out. There have been reports of things flying around the room with no explanation and changes in temperature."

"Anything else?"

Mulder sits back and shrugged. "What do you think, Scully?"

Mulder always wants to know what she's thinking. Why is that? She wonders. Is it so that he can think of different ways to prove her wrong? Which points to shoot at when he's coming up with his theory and the proof behind it? But she couldn't deny how often he was right.

"I think that the change in temperature could either be from a window being open... or a mishap in the air conditioning system. Mulder, are you serious?"

"Yes."

She sighs. "Well then, let's go." She grabs her suitcase and heads toward the door, her hopes of a peaceful day are completely crushed. Now, she and Mulder will be casing after an X-file. Another possible dead end. That's why they are X-files, and Scully knows this too well. But there was no keeping Mulder from the X-files, and she knows that too and to keep him from killing himself or throwing everything away, she has to follow wherever he goes. There would never be any convincing him that extraterrestrials don't exist or that paranormal occurrences weren't the reason for everything. But, Scully had to admit, there was more than she thought. And she had seen shape shifting extraterrestrials- there was no denying it. She stops at the door and turns back to Mulder. "Come on, Mulder. I'm waiting on you now."

He smiles. "One second, Scully."

He stands and turns to the files, digging through them carefully and being sure not to mess anything up in the cabinet. Scully watches, curious and wondering what it is he suspects. When three separate files emerge, she sighs. Mulder catches up and locks the door on the way out.

Mulder is driving. Scully looks through the files, with all her sceptical brilliance. Mulder glances over. "So, what do you think, Scully?"

She looks up. "Telekinesis? Poltergeists? And what's this- it doesn't even seem to have a term."

"Oh- you mean apports? Yeah, it's kind of a fuzzy area of research."

"Fuzzy? Mulder, this is ridiculous! This is the stuff that they use to write horror books."

"Well, it's obviously not warm and fuzzy."

She sighs and begins to ask questions, nothing too far from the usual. "What makes you think that any of these might be part of the investigation?"

"Poltergeists have been known to revolve around people with some kind of emotional turmoil or stress, though sometimes they do seem to happen around completely normal people. These occurrences are happening in a High School where students study day in and day out just to pass their next class. That kind of stress for a student who can't cope with it might conjure a poltergeist."

"Conjure, Mulder?"

He smiles. "Go with it, Scully. Telekinesis can also be developed in such a state, though it can also happen to anyone. Maybe this is a person wants to get back at their teachers or peers."

Her face goes blank as she listens to what more he has to say on the subject, still unsure of what to think. She sighs again and Mulder goes on. "As for apports... well, that's a long shot, I have to admit. But you never know. Things have been known to suddenly appear in a room for no reason at all, though as far as I can tell the flying objects were all things that were already accounted for in the room."

He slows down at the school zone and drives for a minute trying to find a parking spot. Most are filled with junky old second hand cars that students with licenses drive. The school isn't a particularly nice one either, as far as either Scully or Mulder can tell. Once he pulls into a parking spot, Mulder turns off the ignition and they sit for a moment. "Are you ready, Scully?"

She nods and steps out of the car. "Just as long as I don't have to wait on you all day."

She sits in class. The teacher is angry. Squeezing her eyes shut for just a moment, she tries to stop herself from crying with the guilt. She is one of the people that didn't do her homework, but it isn't her fault. Mom had a bad day at work and needed help with the baby. Once dinner was done and both Mom and the baby were in bed, she had tried to do her homework. But the moment she looked down at the questions, she right away decided that she didn't understand. Soon after that, the stress came and she just couldn't comprehend anything that was written on the page. It didn't take long before she gave up and closed the book. Then, she went to bed herself.

Now, the teacher is yelling at all the people who didn't complete their homework last night. She can feel her heart beating faster and the colour rising to her cheeks as a pen rises to the black board and begins to write words in front of the whole class. After a moment, the teacher realises that he isn't being listened to and looks ready to explode at the class. One boy points at the black board. The teacher turns. "Oh my God. Not again..." he whispers.

The message on the board says "Justice will be done."

"Oh, Agent Mulder, Agent Scully, how are you?" says the secretary with succinct and practiced politeness.

"We're... fine," says Scully. "Can you direct us to the Administrator who called us this morning?"

She nods. "He's waiting in the second office to the right. Down that hall there," she points.

"Thank you."

They walk calmly, but Scully whispers, "Mulder, are you sure about this?"

He looks at her arrogantly, that expression that makes him who he is. She can see theories going through his head, and for each one he has an explanation. Something beyond what Scully can see, and she knows it too well. "Of course. One classroom where this occurred- had no windows."

She sighs and they continue to walk to the second office on the right. Scully is curious to know what the administrator thinks. _He can't possibly suspect poltergeists or telekinesis..._she thinks, hoping that it might dissuade Mulder when he hears it. The school was not a place she feels like being and there has to be other, more official work to be done. But she often forgets that little about the X-files is official at all.

Mulder knocks politely on the door and the woman inside looks up. When she sees who is there, she stands politely. "You must be Agents Mulder and Scully," she says. They enter and each shakes hands with the woman. "Please, take a seat. I'm Miss Sylvine Anderson." She crosses the room to close the door and then returns to take her seat across from them. "As you know, we've been having some... problems in some classrooms. Of course, we've dealt with numerous problems before... but this is beyond normal, as I understand is your specialty." She says the last bit with a smile. Mulder nods, keeping his eyes on her. He seems deep in thought. "Do you have any thoughts?" Miss Anderson asks.

"Yes," begins Scully, looking down at the files in her hands. She puts them on the woman's desk and examines the administrator for a moment. She has pretty blue eyes and dark brown hair, which is tied back professionally. "_Agent Mulder_ believes that these cases may be linked to Telekinesis or Poltergeists. There seems to be... evidence of this in these classrooms, although we would like to investigate further to find out."

"Do you mind if I read these?" she asks. Scully looks at Mulder, and he snaps out of the daze he seemed to be in.

"Go ahead... they're unsolved cases about Poltergeists and Telekinesis. Maybe you can give us some insight or thoughts on which may be true in this case?"

Miss Anderson nods and opens the file carefully, looking through and reading. She seems to be taking note of some things, and Scully begins to think that they will be stuck in the school for the rest of the day. _No chances of getting real work done, _she thinks. Miss Anderson nods and looks up at the two of them. "Well," she begins, "I've never really thought about such things... but I can't deny that there are some troubled kids here who may produce these...poltergeists. Or maybe use telekinesis to get back at the people who had hurt them in some way."

Mulder nods and Scully forces herself not to roll her eyes. But the woman, more or less on a Mulder level, has a point. _Just like Carrie, _she thinks, and not for the first time. "It is true that some kids with emotion problems may, instead of taking out their anger on the world physically create paranormal entities to deal with the problems but don't know it. In telekinesis..."

"Excuse me, Miss Anderson," Scully cuts in, "would you mind if we sat in on a couple of the classes where these occurrences have been most frequent?" Miss Anderson, for a moment, is bewildered but then nods.

"Of course, Agent Scully. Our second class will be starting soon and there is one class then that has had these... occurrences numerous times. "

"Thank you," says Scully. She stands. "I need to speak to Agent Mulder for a moment."

The woman motions to the door. "Of course, Agent Scully."

Mulder stands and follows his partner, politely nodding to the principal. He closes the door gently and Scully glances around quickly. "I think you're being irresponsible, Mulder," she says.

"How?"

"You can't discuss your theories in front of a person who may or may not be a suspect. Plus, you haven't even discussed them with me yet."

Mulder looks at her curiously for a moment. "Is this another one of those territorial, jealous things again, Scully?" he asks, half serious, half mocking her.

"No!" she retorts quickly. "In any case, we're going to see if we'll get to see one of these paranormal moments when we go to class in a few minutes."

Mulder turns back toward the door of the principal's office. "I hope we get good grades."


	3. Chapter Two: Blood

Chapter Two: Blood

She sees them enter out of the corner of her eye. For a moment, she watches. They certainly aren't students, but it doesn't take an idiot to guess that. They are dressed too professionally and are much too old. One- the man- speaks to the teacher, who nods and motions to the back of the room where the two people will be able to sit. The man thanks the teacher and they walk slowly to the back of the classroom, talking quietly with each other. As they pass her front row desk, her heart rate escalates. _What if they're more people from Social Services_? She wonders. Come to check up on her and see if she's still...normal?

No, they would have come to her directly, right?

_I just hope they don't ask questions about mom... _she thinks, and glances back at the dark haired man and the redheaded woman with him. The man notices, and she turns her head back toward her desk and hides her face. She can still feel his eyes on her. She breathes heavily, willing his attention away, but she can feel _it _build up inside of her. She grips her desk and breaths even more heavily.

The bell rings, and the teacher does his best to calm the class. He is almost unsuccessful, until he yells. The girl jumps in surprise and closes her eyes, willing the feeling away. She wonders if she dares glance back at the man and the woman who are dressed all too formally for such a horribly cheap school.

The class calms. The teacher, Mr. Hudson, closes the door. She glances at her desk and the pencil on it. It begins to shake. _Take calm, deep breaths, _she tells herself. _This will pass. _

"We're beginning gasses today, class," says the teacher. "The test will be tomorrow."

The test! She'd forgotten all about the test. She tightens her grip and closes her eyes. _Calm, clam. In, out... _she tries to tell herself, but it is so difficult to keep it all back. She feels those eyes on her again. The man's eyes. The one who notices everything.

The class begins and she tries to listen, but she doesn't understand much of it. She doesn't care right now either. The eyes of the man or maybe the woman come and go from the back of her head, and she dares not move. The teacher keeps reminding them of the things they still need to hand in. But she didn't do any of them. She was too...busy. _It wasn't my fault! _

The teacher asks a question. Everyone stares at him stupidly, unable to answer the question. There is a long pause until suddenly; the redheaded woman's voice is heard. Answering the question with a perfect answer. The whole class turns to stare at the strangers in the classroom. She turns and looks, hoping that the fact that everyone else was looking too would disguise her more.

The man stares at the woman, a bit shocked as well. The woman looks embarrassed. "I'm sorry," she says, "I couldn't help it."

The class chuckles a little, but all still curious, they will not leave the two people in the back in peace. The man leans over to the woman. "Who's being irresponsible now?" he asks, mocking her. She looks at him and rolls her eyes a little. She continues to stare at the woman, who relaxes a little. As everyone goes back to their work, by order of the teacher, she hears the woman say quietly to the man; "How much longer are we going to observe?"

"It was your idea. You tell me."

She feels her heart beat a little faster. They didn't sound like social workers, but there was something strange about them. The class resumes with as little tempo as before, and that only stresses her even more. Trying to escape for just a moment, she thinks of her sister and the good times they had together... but the thought leads her to her mother, and the man. She sees blood, lots of blood, all over the room...

Mulder stands suddenly, and for a moment, only Scully notices it. She grabs his arms gently. "Mulder- what is it?" she asks quietly. A few people in the back turn to them. Mulder sits and turns to Scully, whispering in her ear so only she can hear.

"Look at the edges of the room, around the ceiling."

Scully moves her eyes up to the ceiling, where the roof and wall meet. "Oh my God..." she whispers. "Is that..."

Mulder nods. "I think it is."

It slides down the wall, dripping down further and further. The red, heavy liquid drips, as if there are several litres of blood spilled in the ceiling; more and more of it, until it comes halfway down the walls all around the classroom. A spot in the middle of the ceiling turns red, and then the colour spreads, filling the whole grey ceiling with a disgusting red hue and the heavy, empty smell of blood.

The whole class notices, and for a moment, they all just stare. That is, until a young girl with short blond hair realises what it is and runs from the room, her hands clamped over her mouth. "A hemophobe," whispers Mulder, watching the girl leave. "Let's get these students out of here, Scully."

She nods slowly, still staring at the mass amounts of blood all over the room. "Yes, lets."

Mulder stands and puts on his commanding voice. "Okay, I want everyone to get into the hallway!" he calls out to the class, before anyone breaks into panic. "Quick, everyone out!"

The teacher moves first, and people get up, grab their things, and hurry out of the classroom. The last student to leave is a girl with long dark hair. Mulder reaches his hand out to Scully and helps her to her feet. "Can we get a sample of that?" he asks. Scully nods.

"Yes, I think so. What do you think this is, Mulder?"

"Well, I've never heard of a telekinetic just grabbing a whole bunch of blood and dumping it above someone ceiling in a school... so, right now, I'm thinking that either we should look into what's above this ceiling and the history of some of these kids. "

"So you think this blood might be spilled from someone hiding..." she looks to the door, to see a few kids looking in and eavesdropping. Scully goes to the door, and looks at them. "Where is your teacher?"

"Right here, Agent Scully."

She looks up and sees the teacher. "Could you take these students somewhere where they can sit for a few minutes until Agent Mulder and I are finished here?"

"Yes, of course." He nods and tries to usher all the students away from the door. "We'll be in the large conference room, Agent Scully."

"Thank you, Mr. Hudson."

Scully reaches into her pocket and grabs a latex glove. Pulling it onto her hands, she reaches out and closes the door, blocking the view of any stragglers. Sighing, she turns to Mulder, who is trying to get a sample of blood of a tissue. "I have to admit, Mulder, I was beginning to expect something paranormal as well... but I wasn't expecting this."

"I wasn't either. You might want to stands near the middle of the room... blood it getting to the floor now. What's your estimate on how much blood this is?"

She looks around. "More than the blood of one body. Mulder, do you think this might be from someone hiding bodies in the roof?"

Mulder shakes his head. "This blood is all fresh, Scully. As in, it's brand new out of the body and no one could bleed that fast, especially after death. I think that this is the work of a poltergeist from one of these students. Also, I think that it may have to do with apports. Poltergeists and spirits have been known to move things or make things appear that wouldn't normally do that. We have to run a test on this. "He holds out the tissue to her, but they both look at it sceptically. "Let's get a sandwich bag or something."

"Well, I hope it's enough to get a sample," she sighs. "Let's get out of here. The blood is spreading. It will fill the whole room soon. What do you think we should do about this? We can leave it."

Mulder looks around. "I'm going to see if there's any way to get in the ceiling. I want you to get a class list from Miss Anderson of all the people in the classes where the strange things have been happening. Then, I need you to start interviewing some of the kids."

"Mulder, where are you going to be?"

"I'm going to find out the source of this blood. I won't be long."

She nods. "Alright."


	4. Chapter Three: Nothing

Chapter Three: Nothing

It is easy to find the janitor office; it isjust down the hallway. When he approaches it, Mulder knocks and waits for an answer. An old man with greying hair opens the door. "Just come in. Janitors aren't picky." Mulder looks into the room behind him. It is immaculate. He guesses that being a janitor is the right job for this man.

"Hello, I'm Special Agent Fox Mulder, I'm with the FBI," he says, pulling out his ID. "I was wondering if you could show me a way into a ceiling. The man looked at him sceptically.

"Are you investigating these weird things that have been going on Agent Mulder?"

He nodds in reply. "Yes I am. My partner and I specialise in strange, paranormal and unsolved cases."

"I see. And why do you need to get into the roof."

Mulder steps away from the door. "If you would come with me, Mister..."

"Cholka, Ben Cholka."

"Cholka."

Mulder and the Janitor walk back to the classroom and, glancing around out of practice, Mulder opens the door. He holds it open for Mr. Cholka to see. The man gasps. "Is that blood?"

"Yes, it is. Do you know of any way that the whole room could have suddenly gotten coated in blood?"

Mr. Cholka shakes his head. "That's why you're here isn't it?" he asked dryly. Mulder chuckled.

"I will have to admit, this isn't exactly what I expected, which is why I need to get into the ceiling. I'm wondering if there's any possibility that large amounts of blood could have been hidden up there."

"There's a back room behind all the classrooms that has an opening to the ceilings."

"Alright. Show me."

Scully's eyes meet the principal's. "Yes, Agent Scully?" says the woman with all her professional politeness.

"I need class lists of all the classes where this phenomenon has been occurring. Also, I would like to inform you that there has been another... occurrence."

The woman puts down her pen and gives Scully her full attention. "What is it, Agent?"

"One of the classrooms filled with blood... while Agent Mulder and I were there. All of the students in that class have been moved into the conference room by their teacher. I am going to need the time to questions them and see what the connection may be to the blood. Some might be late for their next class, but I need that classroom kept vacant and I need the students' full cooperation."

"Yes, Agent Scully. I can arrange that. Go speak to Miss Becker at the front desk and ask her to print the class lists for you. May I ask... where is your partner?"

Scully sighs quietly. Mulder's actions were never in control and she can't imagine that this woman would understand that if Mulder were to go out of line. "He is speaking with the janitor, and taking a look in the ceiling to see if the blood could have come from there by any natural means. "

Miss Anderson nods slowly. "I understand."

"Thank you, Miss."

Scully leaves quickly and goes to speak to the woman at the front desk of the office.

"This is it," says the Janitor. "This is a back hallway that lets us at each of the classroom in this wing of the school. As you can see, it is open near the top there. You can climb up and look in."

Mulder nods, staring up at the gap in between the wall and the ceiling. It is small, but he is sure he can just barely fit if he crouches. Without turning his gaze back to the man, he asks a question. "Does anyone have access to this crawl space?"

"Well, yes... any staff, that is. No students are allowed though, of course."

"Hmm... okay. Wait here, alright? I'm going to go in."

Mr. Cholka almost makes a movement to stop the agent, but decids that the man knows what he was doing. He is, after all, an FBI agent.

Mulder reaches for a chair and pulls it to where he stands. He gets up onto it, and is barely able to see inside. So far, there is nothing. He hears the Janitor clear his throat and so, Mulder turns back to him. "If you go up there," says the man. "Do not put any weight on anything but the wood cross... the thin layer underneath is the ceiling and would not support a baby's weight."

"Got it. Thanks." Mulder jumps down off the chair and pulls the large wooden desk to where the chair was a moment before. Climbing up again, he pulls off his jacket so that he is just in his shirt. He can see in better, and has enough space to pull himself up. He still sees nothing, but he can't trust that he can see far enough back. Before pulling himself up into the gap, he rolls up his sleeves.

And then, he goes into the darkness.

"What's your name?" asks Scully, just beginning her questioning. The girl sits in front of her nervously, trembling under Scully's gaze.

"My name is... um... Melanie Cooke, ma'am."

"How long have these things been happening in your classroom?"

The girl thinks about it, but doesn't seem to be sure. "Maybe two weeks, ma'am. Never anything like this though. Never..."

_Blood. _

The image flashes through her mind again. Blood... a lot of blood. The man, and blood, and the knife...

_Death. _

"Excuse me, Melanie..." says Scully uncertainly. "Are you alright?"

The girl with the long hair looks back at her and gives her a half-hearted smile. "Yes, ma'am."

But Scully sees the lie. "Are you sure nothing is wrong?"

"Yes... nothing."

Mulder feels around the boards, trying not to slip. Nothing so far. Just a cold and dusty crawlspace. Mulder is becoming a little impatient, but he keeps moving. And then, just when he is very sure that there is nothing up there, he feels something...


	5. Chapter Four: The Body

Chapter Four: The Body

When she is finished speaking with the girl with the long hair, she turns to see him. He looks a little worn out. "What is it, Mulder?"

He beckons her to come closer, hoping that the students don't hear. "I found a body. Just one."

Scully crosses her arms. "Hm. That doesn't at all account for so much blood."

"No, it doesn't. It doesn't account for any of it. This body is completely decomposed. It's been up there for years, it seems."

Scully glances around and takes a deep breath. "How could no one smell it?" she whispers.

"I have no clue, Scully. But that classroom will be closed until it gets cleaned, and I don't think that we have time to take the body out before the next class. I left it there... how many students have you spoken to?"

"Five. One of them was very quiet. The others talked until I had to stop them."

"Okay. Where are the class lists?"

Scully points to a small table in the corner with some paperwork and files on it. Mulder follows the direction and nods. "In that folder?"

"Yes. With all the other information I have."

Mulder nods. "Okay. Thank you."

She gives him a little, half sarcastic smile, to say good luck, even though it certainly isn't the most difficult case they've ever encountered. But Scully feels something. Something about working around all those young teenagers makes her nervous, and she wonders what could cause a student so much grief that he or she could coat a whole room with blood. She glances around at all the students, and her gaze rests on the girl wearing a pretty green dress, and with her long hair tumbling down her shoulders. The girl, Scully remembers her name as Melanie Cooke, notices her gaze and turns bright red, but doesn't meet Scully's gaze.

"Mulder, look through those," she says. "Tell me if you see anything strange. I need to talk to a particular student."

"What's up, Scully?"

"I just have a feeling," she says, something she has heard Mulder say a million times. He smiles.

"Okay, Scully."

She returns his mischievous smile. "Don't think that, Mulder. You haven't managed to convert me yet."

"If you insist." He leaves her and goes to pick up the folder from the table. Scully walks quickly across the room to Melanie, the girl wearing the green dress. The girl, turns a darker red, and seems to try to disappear as Scully walks toward her. Mulder watches as he sits at an empty chair around the large table. He opens the folder and sees the class lists at the top of all the X-file information. He picks them up and looks down at the first one. He glances at all the names on the sheet of paper, then puts it down and glances at the next. Five people, he sees, are in both classes. On the next sheet, it brings the number down even more. Three people. On the next sheet, there are two people with their names on all the lists. Both of them have the same last name. One the last sheet, he finds both names of the list again. Putting them down, he pulls a pen out of his pocket. He quickly circles the names.

His eyes go back to Scully. She speaks softly and quietly to the girl. "Would you like to talk about it elsewhere, Melanie," Mulder hears above all the chattering of the other students.

The girl nods. "Okay, Melanie. Come with me."

The girl obliges and stands to follow Scully. They walk by Mulder, and he quickly gives a tug on Scully's sleeve. "Just wait in the hall, Melanie," she tells the girl before turning to Mulder. "What is it, Mulder?"

"What's her name?" he asks.

"Melanie Cooke."

"Ask her if she has a cousin or a sibling who's in the same class, okay?"

"Why?"

"There are two Cookes with the same spelling in all four classes where this phenomenon has been occurring."

Scully glances around the room. "Just call the kid's name."

"But it could be a coincidence, Scully."

"Yeah, right," she says, although she doesn't believe it. They both know that there doesn't seem to be many coincidences in the X-files. She leaves and joins Melanie in the hallway. "Do you have somewhere you feel comfortable?"

Melanie nods. "The library," she says quietly. "I like it there."

Scully smiles. "Okay."

They walk toward the Library.

Melanie feels that feeling in her stomach again as she walks beside the FBI agent toward the Library. She feels nervous. In her mind, she starts to tell her that it wasn't her who caused things to fly around the room, or have blood spill down the walls. As she walks beside Agent Scully, her stress level rises and she tries to push it off. If it gets any worse, the agent could get hurt. _No, no!_ She tells herself. _I am not doing this. I don't want it to happen. _

_Oh, but you do... _the voice in her head answers. _You wanted it all to happen... just to be heard. _

Her heart pumps faster and she tells herself over and over that it wasn't her. None of it was her fault. She drops her books suddenly, and stops dead in her tracks. Scully notices and turns to the girl, who clutches her chest.

"Melanie?" she puts her hand comfortingly on the girl's shoulder, but finds herself pushes back against the lockers, also suffocating. She tries to find her voice, to call for help. "M-Mul..."her breathing gets more and more laboured every moment. "Mulder..." she gasps.

Melanie coughs, and blood comes out of her mouth, mixed with phlegm. It hits the floor and the girl sees it. She stumbles backward, screaming. "No, no, no!"

_Help me, Mulder, _thinks Scully, hoping that if something in the X-files could be proved correct by her, it would be telepathy. Maybe, if she just thought hard enough, he would hear her.

Melanie faints. And there is a very loud noise. At the end of the hallway, Mulder stands, with a sixteen years old boy beside him. Scully collapses to the floor. Mulder runs to her. "Scully, are you alright?" She nods, but can hardly breathe.

"I think so. How is Melanie?"

Mulder gives her a worried look and goes to the girl to see if she is alright. The girl is passed out, her hair all around her. The boy stops over the girl and looks down at her.

"Is she going to be okay, Agent Mulder?" he asks. "I think might've hit her too hard."

Mulder looks up at the boy. "She'll live, Trevor."

Scully moves to get up, a bit groggy still. Mulder turns to her and helps her stand. "Let's see if we can get you a place to rest, Scully. Same for Melanie. Trevor, can you help her please?"

The boy nods, and puts his arm around the girl. Softly, he whispers her name. She awakens right away. She gives him a half smile.

"What on earth happened?" asks the principal.

"We've had a breakthrough," Mulder tells her. "We've isolated the source of the occurrences. Now, we just need to find out what is happening to the girl that is making her brain do these things."

"Do you actually believe it, Agent Mulder?" she asks. "Do you think that this was the work of a telekinetic, or a poltergeist?"

"Yes, I do. Where is the nurse's office?"

"Down the hall, third door on the left."

Mulder gives her a thankful smile and takes Scully out onto the hallway, where Trevor waits with Melanie. "Let's go."


	6. Chapter Five:Telekinesis & a poltergeist

Chapter Five: Telekinesis and a Poltergeist

"Ever since we were children, Melanie and I have had these... problems," said Trevor. Melanie, sitting beside him silently, is taking deep breaths, nods in agreement. "We were always capable of telepathy and telekinesis, especially when we were around each other. We grew up in the same house- my mom went a little... crazy after my dad died when I was two years old. So, Melanie and I have always been close."

Melanie nods again, but she remains silent. Trevor glances at her nervously and worriedly. "Things, other than that piece of my early history, were pretty normal until we were about eleven. Melanie's dad kind of left, and my mom suddenly came back, and Melanie was left alone with Aunt Sadie, who was distraught. I lived with my mom for four years, until a year ago." Melanie nods, and when Trevor looks at her, she takes a deep breath.

"In that four years, my mom's mind wandered, I guess," she says. "She wasn't sure what she wanted or something- I don't know. Men of all kinds came in and out of the house. I didn't really pay it much mind. I ignored her. But by the time Trevor came back to us, I couldn't control _it _anymore."

"Control what?" asks Mulder. "The telekinesis?"

Melanie nods. "When he first left, it went away for a year. The same for him. But, after a year, it started to happen again a little. I could still control it, but it was there."

Mulder nods slowly. "What happened a year ago? Why did you suddenly return to Melanie's family?"

"Katie, Melanie's sister, disappeared, two weeks after my mom was murdered."

Melanie shivers, and closes her eyes. _Blood, blood, everywhere. I didn't want it to happen..._

"Melanie?" says Scully, reaching out to the girl. Melanie's eyes open suddenly. Tension builds, builds in the room, and all of them can feel it. Scully pulls away, releasing some of the tension and Trevor grabs Melanie's shoulder.

"Melanie, calm down! Please."

The girl pulls her arms close to her body and shivers, shaking as though the room was cold. "I didn't want it to happen. It wasn't my fault."

Mulder looks up at Trevor. "Have either of you left out anything? Anything at all? What it she saying isn't her fault?"

Trevor pulls away from his cousin, sits back, biting his lip. Mulder pushes. "Trevor?"

"It's just that Melanie and Katie were fighting before it happened. She blames herself. Listen to me. Melanie had nothing to do with Katie's death. There was a man, she says. There was a man who she didn't recognise. He came into the house while they were eating their dinner. He tied down Melanie and Aunt Sadie and ran off with Katie kicking and screaming. There were no witnesses, nothing. As if the man was a ghost."

Melanie shivers still, shaking her head. "No, no. There was blood," she whispered. "Blood everywhere."

Mulder glances at Scully. "Blood, Melanie?"

"Blood... all over the walls, leaking from the corners of the walls, as if the whole house was bleeding."

Mulder and Scully leave the two kids in the nurse's office, unsure of how to proceed. Scully turns to Mulder. "I don't think we should send those two home. From what I hear, I don't think it's safe."

"I don't think so either, but what about Melanie's mother? She can't be safe."

They walk in the direction of the office to give instruction to the principal. "Mulder, do you think that the girl could be lying? Or the boy? Trevor said that the man- whoever he is- simply took Katie. But, from what Melanie says, there was some kind of murder."

Mulder shakes his head. "I don't think so, Scully. Melanie said that there was blood every- as if it was leaking from the walls. That's the same thing that happened in the classroom."

"What does that mean, though, Mulder?"

"That Melanie's mind is recreating what she saw- or what she thought she saw. Trevor, according to his story, wasn't there. So this must be what he was told, either by Melanie or her mother. Go talk to Miss Anderson and then go find what you can on the disappearance of Katie Cooke and Trevor's mother- Jessie Cooke. See if there's anything on the two kids' fathers. And the blood- we need that analyzed, remember?"

"What are you going to do, Mulder?"

"I'm going to talk to Sadie Cooke, I think. I'm going to find out what she saw."

Scully sighs. "Do I at least get the car?"

"Yeah, I'll take a cab."

* * *

Mulder knocks on the front door, but there is no answer so he knocks again. This time, after a moment, the door opens slowly. A woman is standing there, looking frail in her over sized clothes and ratty dark hair. "Mrs. Cooke? I'm with the FBI."

He shows her identification, which she examines closely. "You aren't here about either of the kids, are you?"

"In what sense?"

"Is one of them in trouble?"

"No, ma'am."

"Okay. You can come in then. So, what are you here about?"

"I'm here about the disappearance of your daughter- Katie Cooke."

Sadie Cooke closes the door harder than she tries to as she hears her daughter's name. She sighs. "They couldn't find her Agent..."

"Mulder."

"Mulder. So, why the sudden interest?"

"Mrs. Cooke, I'm actually a paranormal investigator with the FBI. I work on a project called the X-files."

"Not mainstream, is it?"

Mulder chuckles. "No. Anyway, what brought me to this case were strange occurrences in your daughter and nephew's school. I heard some strange things from them about your family, and about the night your daughter was taken."

Mrs. Cooke begins to pace around the room, taking deep, nervous breaths. "Agent Mulder, there isn't much to say that I haven't told the police and the last FBI guy that was in here, and that's merely because they don't interest themselves much with what's up here."

Mrs. Cooke points to her head quickly. She sits down and motions to a chair across the table. Mulder sits and looks at her calmly. "Mrs. Cooke, please just tell me what happened."

She sighs and stares at a few plants on the counter for a moment. "The three of us were eating. Katie and Melanie on either side of me. They were fighting, so I was trying to keep things light. People might tell you I went crazy when my husband left us, but I don't think I was really a bad mother. I still did that right. Anyway, we were sitting in silence aside from my few attempts to calm the tension in the room when this man walks in, no word, nothing. He tied Melanie and I up but left Katie, who was too afraid to move anyway. Melanie struggled a little, but I didn't at all. I was too afraid too. He simply had that effect."

Mrs. Cooke sniffs and pushes her dark ratty hair away from her thin pale face. "Then- he started walking around. He didn't seem to have taken anything at first, but then, I couldn't see him the whole time. It seemed as though he was just looking around at everything. He did have a small bag with him, so I might have guessed, but I wasn't thinking. My brain wasn't working well enough for me to even remember to breathe. He came back to the dining room, and pulled Katie to her feet. Katie was sitting right there," she points to the chair on her left. She closes her eyes then, as if to remember every little detail. "He pulls her by the wrist to her feet and both the girls struggle, both girls struggle. Melanie can only move her legs and Katie was always so small... she was no match for this man. She screamed but somehow no one heard. Or no one cared. They were used to Melanie and Katie screaming at each other. This sounded almost like any one of their spats."

Mulder leans forward, looking a little confused. "There was no blood?"

Mrs. Cooke shakes her head. "No. Melanie would say there was. But there isn't. She's complained of other non-existent things before. Once I found her in the middle of her room screaming that there were giant spiders all over the walls. There wasn't, of course. I let her sleep in Katie's vacant room, even though I didn't want anything moved. Even after Melanie slept there, I can still feel Katie in there. I can hear her walking around in there at night."

"Have you seen her, Mrs. Cooke?" asked Mulder. He has a few more questions to ask before he can be sure.

"No, Agent Mulder."

"Can you... this might sound weird... feel her presence?"

Mrs. Cooke thought about it for a moment. "No. I can just hear her."

"Why do you think she's there? Are you certain your daughter was killed?"

Mrs. Cooke looks down at the table, thinking deeply. "I can't be sure. But I have long since lost hope. When he took her, he did take something when he was looking around."

"What was that?"

"Her birth certificate."

* * *

Mulder and Scully sit in the empty staff room at the school.

"So, Mulder, did you learn anything?"

"Yes, I did. I learned that there was no blood like Trevor said. And I discovered that even though there is no certainty that Katie Cooke is dead, her mother hears her in the house."

"Well, what do you think, Mulder?"

Mulder thinks about it for a moment, and then decides. "I think that both Melanie and her mother are schizophrenic."

Scully looks at him sceptically. "That sounds too normal, Mulder. For one of your theories, anyway. Please, explain."

"Melanie, I think, because of her schizophrenia, attracted a poltergeist. The poltergeist is working with what Melanie thinks she saw- blood seeping through the walls. Both the poltergeist and the telekinesis start working when she's stressed out. Paper flying around the room- that's all the work of Melanie's powers. But the blood, that's the poltergeist. Melanie's a visual schizophrenic, by the way. I think her mother just hears things that aren't there. Because, I don't think that Katie is dead. So, I don't think there's a spirit in the house."

"And Trevor?"

"Just telekinetic. Other than that, he seems perfectly fine. What did you get, Scully?"

Scully opens the first file. "Trevor's father was killed when he was two. Gunshot wound to the head by a masked assailant. The reason that Trevor's mother had to be put through so much therapy was because she was there. The man who killed her husband tied her to a kitchen chair before going on to kill her husband before her eyes."

"And Melanie's father?"

"A former FBI agent. He hasn't been seen or heard from since he left the family four years ago."

"Mrs. Cooke seemed to have a more than general knowledge of the FBI. Is there a picture?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"There's a man, who seems to have personal ties to both families, and with the same habits. He's a man. And the only man in the family old enough is Melanie's father. He could very well be alive."

Scully says nothing for a moment, unsure of Mulder's thought. "Mulder, that doesn't explain the body in the ceiling of the classroom, which we still need to take out, by the way."

Mulder is silent. He looks down at the photo in the file. "Hmm. No, there's an explanation. Want to go for a walk, Scully?"

"Where to?"

"The nurse's office."

Mulder stands, carrying the file with him. For a moment, Scully sits alone until she decides to follow.

* * *

"Is this the man you saw when your sister was taken?" asks Mulder. Melanie stares at the photo for a long moment.

"No, it can't be. That's my dad," she answers.

"Yes. But it's an old photo. Imagine him aged."

Melanie shook her head. "Why do you ask, Agent Mulder?"

"Have you ever seen the janitor who works her, Mr. Cholka?"

Melanie shakes her head. Mulder turns to Trevor. "Have you?"

"Yeah. Once or twice."

"Does this look like a younger version of him?"

Scully reaches for the photo but Mulder pulls away. "Mulder! You're just putting thoughts into their heads."

"No, he isn't," says Trevor suddenly. "It does look like him. Look! Same eyes, same nose. Mr. Cholka has white hair and a white beard, but the face shape and his eyes and hair look the same."

"Scully, stay here," says Mulder, and he leaves the room hurriedly.

* * *

**Please review!!! I know it's a lot of dialogue though.. sorry **


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